Referral fee: how medical travel services are paid

What a referral fee is in medical travel to India, who pays it, why disclosure matters and how IndiaMedica’s fee works without changing your price.

Glossary term · Hospital & care

By Nikhil Sharma, Founder · Updated · How we write and check

Definition

Referral fee (also: Facilitator fee, Commission): A referral fee is a payment a hospital makes to a facilitator or referral service for patients who choose to be treated there.

A referral fee is what a hospital pays a facilitator when a referred patient is treated there. Some medical travel services are paid this way rather than by the patient. That is why disclosure matters. IndiaMedica’s partner hospitals pay a disclosed referral fee. It never changes the price you pay and never decides which hospitals we suggest.

Why does the payment model matter?

If a service earns more from one hospital than another, it could be tempted to steer patients. Clear disclosure lets you judge advice with open eyes. The Indian government has said it is encouraging the registration and rating of medical value travel facilitators to build international trust.

Questions to ask any facilitator

  • Who pays you, and how much?
  • Does your fee change my hospital price?
  • Do you suggest hospitals that do not pay you?
  • Will you show me the hospital’s own estimate on its letterhead?
  • Do you hold my money at any point?

How IndiaMedica works

  • The case review is free to you.
  • We share hospital estimates as the hospital issues them.
  • Hospitals pay us a disclosed referral fee after treatment.
  • The fee never changes your price.
  • You pay the hospital directly.

Your choice stays yours

You can choose any hospital, including one we did not suggest. Our help with practical planning does not depend on your choice.

Questions people ask

Would I pay less if I went to the hospital directly?

Our referral fee does not change the price the hospital quotes you. Compare the hospital’s own written estimate either way. If a hospital ever quoted a higher price because of our involvement, we would want to know.

Is a referral fee legal in India?

IndiaMedica’s fee is set in a written agreement with each partner hospital. What matters to you is that the fee is disclosed and does not change your price. For transplants, no payment to donors or middlemen is allowed under the THO Rules 2014.

Sources

General information, not medical or legal advice. Rules change: confirm with the official source. How we write and check.

More glossary

Admission deposit

An admission deposit is an advance payment a hospital may ask for at or before admission, adjusted later against the final bill.

Case manager

A case manager is a non-clinical coordinator who guides a patient through the practical steps of treatment, from sharing reports to follow-up after returning home.

Hospital cost estimate

A hospital cost estimate is a written projection from a hospital of the expected charges for a proposed treatment, based on the reports it has reviewed.

Informed consent

Informed consent is a patient’s voluntary permission for a test or treatment, given with capacity after an explanation of its benefits, risks and alternatives.

Inpatient care

Inpatient care is treatment given after a formal admission to hospital, usually involving at least one overnight stay under a doctor’s order.

Intensive care unit (ICU)

An intensive care unit is a specialist hospital ward that treats and closely monitors people who are very ill, often with support for one or more organs.

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